ALTAMAHAW — As R.D. Smith and his race team have worked to improve their Late Models car at Ace Speedway, sustained speed has become a focal point.

“We haven’t chased that bomb-fast lap,” he said. “We’re more concerned with the race package, our average 15-lap package, not our fast lap.”

That approach has helped produce significant results of late, back-to-back victories in the track’s premier division that have turned average and even subpar qualifying performances into nothing more than footnotes.

Smith won the most-recent Late Models feature despite qualifying 10th. Only three cars qualified slower and none of those finished higher than ninth place.

Yet there was Smith’s No. 16 Ford, steadily climbing from the rear through the field, reaching the top three before the halfway mark and ultimately leading the final 19 laps before rain shortened the 100-lap main event to 86 laps — a victory that paid $2,000 in prize money.

“The car stayed under me all night and had good forward bite,” he said. “We weren’t dominant fast or anything. But we were able to just pick them off one by one. They kept coming to us.

“Cars that race real well a lot of times don’t qualify that well. This car races really well. It drives well on the long runs.”

Smith hasn’t finished lower than third place in the last six races, a streak that has propelled him to the top of the Late Models standings.

After a two-week break from competition, Ace returns to its regular Friday night racing July 19.